By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
Despite being the weakest of the No. 1 seeds, Pittsburgh has the easiest path to the Final Four in Houston.
Complete March Madness Coverage
If the seeds play out on the first weekend, then the Panthers would have to beat a No. 3 BYU team without its top interior player and an overseeded No. 2 Florida squad that just lost its last game by 16 points.
Here's what you need to know:
Top Seed: Pittsburgh (27-5, Big East regular season champions)
Best Second-Round Game: No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Utah State
Third-Round Upset Alert: No. 5 Kansas State will have its hands full with No. 13 Belmont two days after the Bruins put Wisconsin out of its misery.
Cinderella: No. 13 Belmont
Watch This Guy: No. 9 Old Dominion forward Frank Hassell
How A 16 Seed Can Finally Win A Game: North Carolina-Asheville doesn't have the bigs that Pitt has, but the Bulldogs can match the work ethic. Plus, they like to get out and run and create havoc, so if they can force the tempo and convert at a high rate in transition, they could stay close with the Panthers for 40 minutes.
Projected Winner: Pittsburgh